A Very Merry Messer Family Christmas
by sarahlou82
Summary: Follow up to A Very Merry Messer Family Thanksgiving. Danny/Lindsay/Lucy, Adam/OC
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' was a kids book I just randomly picked, although I do own a copy and remember reading it as a child. Leaving food out for Santa and Rudolph is a British tradition, often accompanied by a glass of something alcoholic or a glass of milk for Santa, but I'm not sure if this extends to the US as well, but have included it anyway! As for _twas the night Before Christmas, _I've had the first few lines stuck in my head since the idea for the fic jumped in there, so it only seemed right to include it!

* * *

_Twas the morning before Christmas, when all through the house  
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse._

All was quiet in the Messer household on Christmas Eve morning. Lindsay began to stir as the weak winter sunlight strained through the gaps in the curtains. She rolled over and patted the bed beside her, still empty as her husband worked a night shift. She groaned inwardly as she realised the baby was yet again pressing on her bladder. She heaved herself out of bed cursing under her breath as her feet met the cold floor. She gently caressed her belly as she murmured. "No more baby Messers, definitely no more. Danny can carry the next one if he wants another baby." She grinned as she pictured her husband pregnant, he would never cope with nine months of being pregnant, especially getting up every two hours to pee, Danny definitely needed his sleep. She checked the clock as she waddled out to the bathroom, 6:30 am. At least baby had given her an extra half an hour from its usual 'every 2 hours I lie on your bladder' schedule.

Bathroom visit over, Lindsay peered around Lucy's bedroom door, hoping she was still asleep so her tired Momma could go back to bed for a while. Lucy was sat up in bed in her favourite Cinderella pyjamas, her hair sticking up in every direction and he favourite teddy bear tucked into bed next to her. In her hands she held her favourite storybook 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. Lindsay sighed quietly; there was no chance of getting Lucy back to sleep now. "Hey Mommy." Lucy said brightly. "Me an' Ted are reading a story, so be quiet." Lindsay said nothing as she watched her daughter turn the pages of the book, pointing things out to her teddy bear. Lindsay frowned as she realised Lucy was holding the book upside down, but waited until Lucy had finished the book before saying anything to her. "Lucy, did you know the book was upside sweetie?" Lucy closed the book and put it on the bed next to her. "Silly Mommy, course I did. The tiger looks funny upside down an' Ted thought it was funny!" Lindsay shook her head and smiled. "Ok then sweetie, how about we go and get some breakfast?" Lucy threw back her bedcovers, burying Ted, as she raced to grab her slippers. "Yum Mommy! Can we have pancakes? Pweeeease Mommy." Lindsay nodded, "Sure baby girl, let's go."

* * *

_The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there._

Ali straightened the stockings hanging above the fireplace as Adam brushed his teeth in the bathroom. The pair had been virtually inseparable since Thanksgiving and Adam regularly stayed over at her apartment. Adam crept up behind Ali, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Oh cool, I get a stocking too!" He exclaimed, taking in the row of stockings, each neatly embroidered with the name of its owner. Ali turned around still encased in Adam's arms and tenderly kissed him on the lips. "Of course, all my favourite people get stockings." She grinned before kissing him again. "Although if you're late for work again Mac might not let you have Christmas day off, so you better get your pretty little butt out the door if you want to keep the boss happy." She turned him around, grabbed his bottom and steered him towards the apartment door. "But I don't wanna go to work!" Adam whined. Ali placed her head on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "If you go to work like a good boy, I'll have a nice surprise waiting for you when you get home."

Lindsay opened the apartment door to find Ali and Adam stood in the neighbouring doorway kissing. Lucy covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, causing Ali and Adam to blush as they separated. Lucy was oblivious to the embarrassment she had caused and tugged on the sleeve of Ali's top. "Say bye to Mommy and Uncky Adam now Ali, they gots to go to work, and we got lots to do." She let go of Ali's sleeve and tried to push her mother and Adam away towards the elevator. "I said go to work Mommy!" She pouted as Lindsay moved only a few steps towards the elevator. "Don't I get a kiss goodbye baby girl?" Lindsay asked, pretending to be hurt. "No time for kisses Mommy, go to work!" Lucy replied. Lindsay smiled and handed over a bag containing Lucy's things to Ali, before she headed towards the elevator with Adam. They both stopped halfway down the corridor and turned back, just in time to witness Lucy tugging on Ali's arm to encourage her into the apartment. Adam turned to Lindsay and grinned. "She definitely knows what she wants that one!"

* * *

Later that morning Ali and Lucy stood in the kitchen baking. So far they had made several batches of cookies in a variety of shapes- Christmas trees, stars, angels, stockings and baubles. Lucy was impatiently waiting for the next batch to cool enough to be decorated and was chatting animatedly about what presents Santa was going to bring her. "The baubles are ready to decorate now Lucy; shall we use the icing pens this time?" Lucy nodded enthusiastically, trying not to fall off the chair she stood on to make her tall enough to reach the counter. "I'm gonna make one for Mommy, one for Daddy, one for Ted, one for Uncky Mac, and three for Santa so's he thinks I'mma good girl!" Ali grinned as she walked over to the oven to remove the next batch. Baking had become a bit of a tradition on the days Ali only had Lucy to look after, and boy did Lucy make the most of it. Ali carefully placed the hot tray on the oven top and turned to watch Lucy at work. She had a patch of flour on her nose, a strand of her brown hair had escaped from its rightful place in her ponytail, and the tip of her tongue peeked out of her mouth as she concentrated on neatly decorating the cookie. Ali silently reached across the counter for her camera, she knew this was a scene Lindsay would love to see, her whirlwind of a daughter awake and quiet! Ali snapped the photo and Lucy's face snapped up as she saw the flash. "Take a photo of my cookie Ali, its all pwetty!" Lucy grinned, holding the cookie up on the palm of her hand to show it off. "Look, it's a M for Mummy! Can you show me a D for Daddy, I forgot how it goes."

After writing most of the alphabet on the bauble cookies, and then forcing Ali to take individual photos of them all, Lucy's attention turned to the Christmas tree cookies. "Ok Luce, for these I have some extra special glitter to put on the cookies. It's not like the glitter we make pictures with though, you can eat this glitter!" Lucy's face lit up at the idea of this, and her blue eyes sparkled. "Wow, magic food glitter!" She grinned, reaching for the first of the cookies. "Whoa, steady on Lucy!" Ali exclaimed. "First I need to put some icing on first. So I'll put the icing on, and then you can put some green glitter on to make it look like a sparkly tree." Lucy enthusiastically tackled her role in the cookie decoration, despite managing to get more glitter in her hair and on her face than on the cookies.

Ali lifted Lucy down from her perch when a knock came at the apartment door. Lucy followed Ali from the kitchen, as curious as always to know what was going on around her. "Daddy!" Lucy squealed as Ali opened the door to reveal her father. "Hey kiddo." He yelped as Lucy crashed into him, before picking her up and giving her a kiss. Lucy placed a little hand on either side of her father's face and rubbed her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. "Eww, Lucy you're all sticky!" he grumbled as Lucy peeled her hands away from his face. Lucy giggled as Ali apologised. "Sorry Danny, we're decorating cookies and it's gotten a little messy. I'll clean her up don't worry." Danny stifled a yawn as he placed his daughter back on the floor. "Go home and get some sleep Danny," Ali continued. "You're clearly exhausted, and Lucy's clearly hyped up with all the excitement. Go home, sleep for a couple of hours and come and fetch her when you're ready."

"You sure?" Danny yawned. "Yes, definitely! Now, say goodbye to your daughter and we'll see you later. Oh, and maybe wash your face, she's left a bit of icing on it!" Ali laughed as she swiped at the offending piece of icing stuck in Danny's beard.

* * *

_The children were nestled all snug in their beds,  
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads._

Danny and Lindsay eventually managed to get Lucy settled into bed, after she insisted on leaving out a large plate of cookies for Santa, and another equally large plate of carrots for Santa. "Ok Luce, time for you to go to sleep sweetie, remember Santa won't come if you're still awake." Lindsay informed. "I know Mommy, but can I pwease have another story." Lindsay turned to Danny with a pleading look in her eyes. They were both exhausted, and they still had to fetch all of Lucy's presents out of their hiding places once she eventually went to sleep. Danny leant forward and kissed his daughter. "No more stories now Luce, it's time for little children to sleep, and it's time for Mommy and Daddy to have some peace." Lucy pouted, but knew it was no use- once her father said no he meant it. Danny and Lindsay kissed their daughter again and crept out of her room, hoping her early start would mean she'd soon be fast asleep.

Once they were certain Lucy was asleep, Danny and Lindsay set about the mammoth task of retrieving all of Lucy's presents. As with previous years, it seemed that members of their extended family had cleared out a whole toy shop buying Lucy presents. Her 'family' from the lab were possibly the worst, filling the trunk of Danny's truck three times over with presents. They eventually finished placing her presents under the Christmas tree in the lounge, and fell into bed exhausted. Danny opened the draw on his bedside cabinet and pulled out a small box. "Lins', I thought you might wanna open your present early." He announced, handing the box to his wife. Lindsay stared open mouthed at the small package in his hands. "Well, aren't you gonna open it?" he gestured, pulling slightly on the ribbon wrapped around it. Lindsay stared again at the package before carefully unwrapping it. Her jaw dropped as she opened the box to find a ring sat inside it, three princess cut diamonds sat in a row on a platinum band. Danny took the ring out of the box and took his wife's left hand. "I never did give you an engagement ring." He smiled, as he slid the ring onto her finger.


	2. Chapter 2

More Christmassy goodness with everyone's favourite family, the Messers! Unbeta'd so excuse any mistakes! Please R&R!

* * *

Lucy Messer was wide awake early on Christmas morning. She tiptoed past her parents' bedroom into the lounge. Her first stop was to check whether Santa had eaten the yummy cookies she had made for him. The plate was empty! Santa had eaten his cookies! She gasped with delight when she looked at the plate next to it, Rudolph had eaten his carrots too, every last crumb! Next to the empty plates sat a piece of paper. Lucy squinted in the meagre light trying to decipher the writing. She recognised her own name at the top, and Santa's at the bottom: Santa had left her a letter! She couldn't work out the rest of the words on the paper, Santa had very bad writing. Lucy leaned in to look at the time on the digital clock on the TiVo box. She couldn't really tell the time, but could recognise the numbers from games she played with Ali. "Zero, five, two dots on top of each other, five, eight." She whispered, still not quite sure what the numbers meant. She thought about whether or not it was ok to go and wake her parents up.

She walked back towards her parents' room and her breath caught in her throat as she saw the enormous pile of presents fighting for space under the Christmas tree. "Wow! Hope they all say Lucy on them!" She murmured, combating the urge to jump into the pile and rip them all open. No, Mommy and Daddy would be mad if she opened all her presents now. She continued to tiptoe towards her parents' room, stopping outside their partially open door. She stifled a giggle as Danny suddenly snored loudly, Daddy sure did make some funny noises when he was asleep! Lucy pushed the door open a fraction more, but the room was still too dark for her to see either of her parents. She hesitated, maybe it was too early to wake Mommy and Daddy up, it was still dark outside. Maybe she should go back to bed for a little while and pretend to sleep. But she really wanted to open the presents sat under the tree. Lucy stood silently in the doorway, trying to decide what to do. After a minute she decided to go to the bathroom and then decide. Lucy sat on the toilet in the dark, swinging her legs slightly and humming to herself. She felt too wide awake now to go back to bed, she really wanted to tell Mommy and Daddy about the letter from Santa and all the presents he had left for her. She flushed the toilet, shushing it as it hissed and groaned, quickly washed her hands. She had decided, it was time to wake Mommy and Daddy up!

Lucy tiptoed back to her parents' doorway. Lighter snores came from the room now, and they spurred her on. She silently opened the door as wide as it would go and took a few steps inside the room. This was it; there was no going back after this. "Mommy! Daddy! Wake up, wake up, Santa's been! Presents!" She yelled, throwing herself onto the bed. "Wa? Wazza matter?" Danny murmured, his daughter's bony elbow and knee bringing him closer to consciousness. Lindsay rolled over to check the alarm clock on her bedside table and groaned. "Luce, it's 6am, it's too early."

"But Mommy," Lucy protested. "Santa's been and he's left lots and lots of presents and he left me a letter. And he ate my cookies, and Rudolph ate all the carrots!" Danny and Lindsay moaned simultaneously, they were not ready for a hyperactive three year-old yet this morning. Danny scooped up his daughter, placing her in the gap in the bed between Lindsay and himself. "Let's go back to sleep for a bit Luce, come and have a cuddle with your Ma and me." Lucy wriggled in the gap for a few seconds, making herself comfortable. "Ok Daddy, but only for a few minutes, then presents!"

Curling up in bed with Lucy gained an extra half an hour of peace as she dozed, her letter from Santa still tightly clutched in her hand. She woke up with a yawn, stretching her arms as wide as possible and managing to hit both of her parents simultaneously. "Lucy!" Danny grumbled, his voice still full of sleep. Lucy leant over and kissed her father on the nose. "Sowwy Daddy, my arms was all squished up." Danny grabbed Lucy and placed her on his chest so they were nose to nose. "Eskimo kiss!" Lucy grinned, rubbing her nose against her father's. Lindsay rolled over and wrapped an arm around her husband and daughter. "Luce," she whispered. "Shall we go and see what Santa's left for you?"

"Santa!" Lucy exclaimed, suddenly remembering the bearded man in red who had visited the night before. She leapt off of her father, managing to kick him in the ribs and face as she jumped, and landed on her feet with a thump. Lindsay grinned as her husband held his face bad ribs in mock agony. Lucy, however, seemed oblivious to her father's pain, fake or not. "Mommy, Daddy c'mon, presents!" Lucy squealed. Danny and Lindsay wearily admitted defeat and padded after their daughter as she raced into the living room.

* * *

Forty-five minutes and a mountain of presents later, Danny and Lindsay surveyed the carnage that surrounded them. Scraps of paper covered the parts of the floor not covered by Lucy's opened presents. The couch was piled high with items of clothing Lucy had been received, and the tree looked bare with the few remaining presents underneath it. "Mommy, I's not opened all the presents, look!" She exclaimed, pointing at the tree. Lindsay sighed, she had lost count of the amount of times she had told Lucy that not all of the presents were hers. "Some belong to Mommy and Daddy remember Luce, and there's the one you bought of Ali." Lucy nodded her head solemnly. "But can I still open them Mommy?"

"No!" Her parents chorused. Lucy looked disheartened for a moment, but then smiled. "OK Mommy." She said cheerfully, before climbing on the sofa to kiss her parents. "Mommy and Daddy open presents now!" She grinned, jumping down from the couch and heading for the tree. Lucy picked up a present and scowled at the label. "M for Mommy!" She announced proudly, handing Lindsay her present. Lindsay read the label and kissed the top of Lucy's head. "I wonder what Lucy's bought for her Mommy?" She smiled as she carefully tore the paper off, and opened the box it contained. "A voucher for 'Mommy and Me' art sessions, aw! Thank you Lucy, thank you Daddy." She smiled as she kissed them both. "Daddy's turn now!" He grinned as he dashed towards the Christmas tree. "Luce, you gonna help your Da open his present." Lucy's face lit up, any excuse to open another present! Between them they shredded the paper, leaving a photo frame to fall into Danny's lap. He picked it up and turned it over, the clear glass frame had the words 'Daddy and me' etched in black above the photo. The photo itself he didn't recognise, Lucy was sat on his knee and they were both grinning widely at the camera. "Lins, when was this taken?" He asked, staring intently at the photo. "It kinda looks like Ali's place, but I don't remember it being taken." Lindsay didn't need to look at the photo to remember it, every millimetre of it was engrained in her memory, in the box marked 'My favourite photos of Danny and Lucy'. "Ali took it at Thanksgiving, she'd just flicked mashed potato at Adam remember?" Danny chuckled, he clearly remembered it better than he thought he did. He kissed his daughter, then kissed his wife. "Thanks baby." He murmured, kissing his wife again.

Lucy climbed down from the couch again, she loved kisses and cuddles, but sometimes her Mommy and Daddy were too icky. She wandered into the kitchen, standing on tiptoe to try and see up onto the counters. Her stomach growled as she stretched as far as her little legs would take her. "Mommy, the tummy monsters need food!" She giggled, rubbing her tummy. Danny and Lindsay sighed from their position on the sofa, a whole minute of peace didn't seem very much! "Ok, Mommy's gonna make breakfast, and me and you are gonna tidy up all this paper Little Miss." Danny ordered, helping Lindsay up off the sofa.

Danny grabbed a large garbage bag and started to shove in scraps of wrapping paper. However Lucy had other ideas, she grabbed a handful of smaller pieces of paper and threw them up in the air, spinning around as they fell around her. "Snow Daddy, look it's snowing inside!" Danny held his head in his hands, while Lindsay chortled to herself in the kitchen. "Lucy Marie Messer! That's not helping Luce, put it IN the garbage bag, don't pull it out." Lucy pouted, her hands full of more paper scraps. "And I know it's fun to you, but don't throw those either!" Lucy looked at her father, looked at the scraps in her hand, then back at her father. She paused for a moment, considering her options, before deciding to place the paper scraps into the garbage bag. Danny ruffled Lucy's hair before continuing to pick up pieces of wrapping paper. Lucy decided to pick up paper underneath the tree, still fascinated by its twinkly lights. "Daddy!" Lucy gasped. "A present daddy, a present!" Lucy carefully picked it up from its hiding place and carried it to Danny. "Whose is it daddy?" She exclaimed, bouncing on the spot as Danny examined the present. "What's all the fuss for?" Lindsay asked as she shuffled in from the kitchen. Lucy dashed over to her mother. "A present Mommy! Santa must of hided it under the tree!" Danny and Lindsay both smiled as their daughter began to twirl on the spot. "I don't think it's for you baby." Lindsay soothed. "I think it's for Daddy." Lucy ran from her mother to her father. "Is it from Santa Daddy? Can I open it?" She questioned. Danny smiled at Lindsay. "Sure you can help me open it Luce." He picked Lucy up, sat down on the couch and placed her on his knee before they both began tearing into the paper. "New Converse, thanks babe." He said, beckoning his wife over for a kiss. "Are they pink Daddy? Aunty Stella got me pink shoes." Lucy grinned, oblivious to her parents trying to avoid bursting into fits of laughter at the thought of Danny in pink Converse.

* * *

_Next time:_ we experience Christmas at Ali's! expect the Messer's to stop by for dinner! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Christmas morning at Ali's got off to a much quieter, and later start than at the Messer's. Ali awoke around 8:30, her head resting on Adam's chest, his t-shirt clutched in her hand inches from her face. Adam reached up and tenderly tucked a stray strand of her behind Ali's ear. "Morning beautiful." He murmured as Ali cautiously opened her eyes. She released her grip on Adam's t-shirt, lifted her head slightly and rubbed her eyes. "Morning." She replied, kissing Adam's chest before placing her head back onto it, wrapping her arm around him and squeezing gently. They lay in silence for a while, just holding each other and savouring being together. Ali eventually broke the silence. "S'pose I'd better get up soon, Christmas dinner won't cook itself." She said, begrudgingly pulling herself away from Adam and sliding out of bed. Adam grabbed her ankle as she slid her second leg out of the bed. "Don't go yet, come back to bed." He grinned, one eyebrow raised. Ali swatted his hand and laughed. "One kiss Adam, that's all you're getting, I've got lots to do!"

One kiss quickly turned into a ten minute make-out session, which both parties reluctantly separated from when Adam's phone began to ring. He moaned as he rolled over to retrieve his cell phone from the bedside cabinet. "It's my Mom." He sighed, reading the caller ID. "Perfect excuse for me to get started then!" Ali grinned before kissing Adam again and leaving him to talk in private. She walked into the lounge with a spring in her step, she always loved the holidays, but this year was extra special now she had Adam in her life to share it with. "God, I'm so cheesy!" she said to no-one in particular as she began to fill the coffee maker.

Adam followed Ali into the kitchen five minutes later, after a brief chat with his mother. "How's your Mom?" Ali asked as Adam stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "She's good," He replied. "She wishes you a Merry Christmas and wants to know when she can meet you; she even talked about coming to New York! In the seven years I've been here she hasn't once offered to come see me, and now it's all she can talk about!" Ali thought carefully for a moment before responding, knowing that she already knew the answer to the question she was about to ask. "What do you think's changed her mind then?" Adam shrugged. "I'm not sure, she said something about ex-girlfriends, and you, and something about me always talking about you or something. I'm not really sure; I think I was only half listening!" Ali laughed; Adam had a habit of only half listening to his Mom on the phone, and Christmas day was clearly no exception. "Do you want presents or breakfast first?!" Ali asked, moving the conversation away from Adam and his Mom. Adam contemplated his options for a moment before his face lit up. "Presents!" He grinned, taking Ali by the hand and leading her into the lounge.

* * *

Present opening at Ali's was quite different to that at the Messer's; there were no piles of paper covering the floor, no opened presents spread across the floor, everything was neatly placed. Adam had mostly bought Ali small gifts; a few DVDs she wanted; a book she had pointed out to him weeks ago and forgotten all about; a t-shirt saying "I heart my geek"; a box of her favourite chocolates. He had saved the best until last: just as Ali thought she had unwrapped all of her present from Adam, he whipped out another. "Adam!" She admonished. "Don't you think you spent enough on me?" He just grinned at her as she stared at him. "Open it then!" He chided, desperate to see the look on her face when she opened the silver box in her hands. Ali carefully tugged on the ribbon around the box before removing the lid. "Oh Adam!" She gasped as she took in the box's contents: a silver charm bracelet containing two heart shaped charms. "I know we haven't said that word yet, but..." he paused. "I love you Ali, I think I've loved you from the very moment I first saw you walk into the crime lab with Lucy." Tears welled in Ali's eyes as she looked at Adam. "I love you too!" She cried, flinging her arms around his neck, tears running shamelessly down her cheeks. "I love you too." She murmured, kissing Adam on the cheek before burying her face in his chest.

* * *

I really wanted this chapter to be longer, but my brain doesn't seem to want to function very well tonight! Soooo, here's the next installment anyway! Still more Danny/Lindsay/Lucy/Adam/Ali madness to follow!


	4. Chapter 4

Finale of a Very Merry Messer Christmas! Really wanted to get this up before Christmas Day, but between visiting & being visited, it didn't happen! it's hear now anyway, so please R&R!

* * *

Danny and Lindsay somehow managed to contain Lucy's excitement and got her bathed and dressed, with only one threat to send all her toys back to Santa. Lucy deliberated for several minutes over which of her new outfits to wear, eventually settling for the pink and purple sweater Lindsay's parents had sent, the pink skirt and socks Danny's parents had sent, and the pink Converse shoes from Stella. Danny and Lindsay watched as their daughter skipped out of her bedroom. "She looks like a pink marshmallow." Danny murmured to his wife. "Danny, she's just a typical little girl!" She replied. "I know, I know. But did people really have to buy so much pink stuff?" He grumbled. Lindsay patted his arm with a smile. "You'll just have to learn to live with it, especially if number two's a girl." Danny held his head in his hands and groaned. "This one has to be a boy, your Ma only had one girl, and my Ma didn't have any, so it has to be a boy." Lindsay patted Danny's cheek before following her daughter into the lounge. "Keep dreaming cowboy."

* * *

Thankfully neither Ali nor Adam were dressed like marshmallows when the Messer family eventually descended on Ali's apartment. "Merry Christmas!" Ali beamed as she welcomed them into the apartment. "Mewwy Chris'mas!" Lucy mimicked, throwing herself at Ali's legs. "Erm, Danny," Adam interrupted. "What is Lucy wearing?" Danny and Lindsay both laughed. "That would be the child sized lab coat Uncle Sid bought her for Christmas." Lindsay replied. Lucy stood in front of Adam and tugged on his hand. "It sayses my name Uncky Adam, look." Lucy grinned, pointing above the pocket on her white lab coat where the embroidery proclaimed "Lucy Messer, NY: Crime Lab, Junior M.E." Adam crouched down to Lucy's level. "Are you gonna be a Scientist like Mommy and Daddy when you're a big girl then Luce?" Lucy gave Adam a look that screamed 'Are you crazy?!' and rolled her eyes. "Silly Uncky Adam, I'm gonna be a princess!" She grinned, twirling around so the bottom of her lab coat spun out. Adam stood up and scratched his head, "Well, I kinda asked for that didn't I?" He grinned as Ali wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

Lucy wasted no time in investigating the presents left under Ali's Christmas tree, picking each one up in turn, shaking and squeezing them all. Finding a present she liked the sound of, she carried it to the couch, handing it to Danny to hold while she clambered up in-between her parents. "Is this mine Daddy?" Lucy asked, rattling the parcel again. Danny turned over the gift tag and read it out loud. "It says 'To Mommy and Daddy, lots of love Lucy xx' I wonder what it is? Maybe you should open it for me Luce?" Lucy needed no further encouragement and ripped the paper off of the parcel, revealing a tin. Lucy tried her hardest to prise the lid from the top, but wasn't quite strong enough; Danny subtly aided his daughter, praising her when she eventually succeeded. "Wow, cookies!" Lucy exclaimed, her bright blue eyes taking in the tin's contents. "They're the ones we made yesterday," Ali explained. "We made so many there was no way me and Adam could eat them all! We even sent Mac away with some yesterday when he came round!"

* * *

The next hour was spent unwrapping presents. The stocking proved particularly popular, Lucy was filled with girly jewellery bits, colouring pencils, a mini box of modelling clay, and other small bits that only a three year-old girl could love. Danny and Lindsay's stockings were both filled with baby related goodies: booties, pacifiers, teething rings, baby socks, and so on. Adam's contained a surprise amount of geekiness, but his favourite had to be the laser light pen, which kept him firmly occupied while the others opened their presents.

When all the presents had been opened, all the 'thank yous' said, and all the paper cleared away, Ali spoke. "I think Santa may have left something here for Lucy by mistake! He had so many presents to carry he must've forgotten to take this one with him!" All the adults smiled as Lucy's face lit up at the mention of yet another present. Ali fetched a large pink box out of her bedroom and Lucy leapt across the room at it. "This is from Uncle Adam and me Lucy." Ali smiled, trying to hold Lucy back from ripping at the paper before she could acknowledge who the gift was from. Too impatient to thank anybody just let, Lucy let rip at the box, easily tearing the paper off within seconds, revealing a box with a picture on the side. Ali crouched down next to Lucy, "Was this the bike you wanted Luce?" Lucy stared wide eyed at the picture on the side of the box: the picture showed a girl around Lucy's age sat on a pink bike with lilac trim and pictures of the Disney princesses all over it. Lucy suddenly turned and threw herself at Ali, hurling her arms around Ali's neck and landing a wet kiss on her cheek. "Thank you!" Lucy squealed, before peeling herself away from Ali to stare at the box. "That's ok Lucy," She replied. "Maybe if you ask Daddy and Uncle Adam nicely they can put it together for you." Both men's heads whipped around to face Ali at the mention of their names, before looking at each other. They had both agreed the bike was a great idea, but hadn't anticipated having to piece it together!

* * *

After an enormous Christmas dinner, the adults all slumped on the couches, too full to move. Lucy showed no signs of wanting to slow down and was skipping around the room wearing her bicycle helmet and pretending to ride a bike. "Lucy!" Danny grumbled as she dashed in front of him for the third time. "Yes Daddy?" She asked, standing in front of him with an innocent look on her face. "Can't you sit down for a bit Luce, you're making Daddy feel ill." Lucy stroked her father's leg and apologised. "Why don't you draw Daddy a picture huh? I can put it up in my office then." Lucy grinned and headed straight for the child size desk where Ali kept her drawing equipment. "Ok Daddy, what picture d'you want?" She requested, pulling papers and pencils out of a drawer, still wearing her bicycle helmet. "Surprise me baby!" He responded, pulling out his phone to capture his daughter's image on his camera.

Drawing kept Lucy occupied for a surprising amount of time, and it was only after she had drawn several pictures for her parents, Ali and Adam, and Uncle Mac that she began to flag. She clambered onto her father's lap with a yawn. "Are you sleepy baby?" He asked, stroking her soft brown hair. Lucy said nothing, choosing instead to make herself comfy against her father's chest. "Peace at last!" Adam mouthed with a grin, before Lindsay threw a cushion at him.

Lucy eventually succumbed to sleep, curled up in her father's arms. "I think now would be a good time to go." Lindsay whispered.

* * *

With Lucy safely tucked up in bed, Danny and Lindsay gave the apartment a quick tidy before relaxing on the couch. Lindsay snuggled as close to her husband as her pregnant belly would allow her, while Danny wrapped one arm protectively around her shoulders and placed his free hand on her bump. "Only another 364 days before we get to do it all over again." Lindsay sighed wearily. Danny grinned and patted her bump. "Only next year we get TWO kids to deal with!" Lindsay groaned before burying her face in her husband's chest. "This is all your fault Messer!" She murmured, gently slapping him on the arm.


End file.
